New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez on Thursday announced he was suing online betting platform Kalshi for allegedly evading state gaming laws by allowing sports gambling.
The lawsuit filed in New Mexico’s First Judicial District Court alleges the Delaware-based company’s operation in New Mexico creates a “public nuisance” by contributing to compulsive and addictive betting in a state that already has nearly four times the national rate of problem gambling. The company is also upending “carefully negotiated” statewide gaming compacts or other gambling allowed through strict state regulation, the suit contends.
“Kalshi has ignored that framework entirely while offering online sports betting within the state,” Torrez said in a statement announcing the lawsuit. “We are filing this lawsuit to protect the integrity of our laws, our regulatory system, and most importantly, consumers.”
In May, three New Mexico pueblos and one tribe sued Kalshi in federal court, arguing that the company allows sports gambling on tribal land, which undermines the Indigenous governments’ rights to raise revenue for schools and other institutions. That lawsuit is still pending, but followed a favorable ruling for a Wisconsin tribe in a similar lawsuit against Kalshi.
Mescalero Apache Tribe Vice President Duane Duffy, who represents one of the plaintiffs in the New Mexico suit, did not immediately respond to Source NM’s request for comment on how the AG’s suit might complement their legal action.
Torrez’s lawsuit Thursday alleges all sports gambling that the app enables across the state constitutes a violation of a 1953 law that has broadly criminalized all forms of gambling except those regulated through the state’s Gaming Control Act.
“We respect and support the separate action filed by tribal governments in May to protect their sovereign interests,” New Mexico Department of Justice Chief of Staff Lauren Rodriguez told Source NM in an emailed statement. “And we view these efforts as separate but complementary tracks that together defend both the State’s interests and the integrity of tribal gaming in New Mexico.”
Torrez’s lawsuit contains screenshots of what it alleges constitutes sports gambling on the app, including allowing New Mexico users to place bets on the number of points scored by the winner in the May 30 NBA conference final game between San Antonio Spurs and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
According to a 2025 study cited in the lawsuit, 3.9% of New Mexico adults the study surveyed screened positive for problem gambling. The national average is 1%, according to the study.
Kalshi officials did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment from Source NM on Thursday.
